Im not looking for hate im just a guy whos looking to harvest bigger bucks instead of whatever has antlers. These are pictures from two separate locations. Picture on the left is the first buck this year in that area. Ive had many Mature deer in this spot but could never get them out during daylight. He came in earlier right after 0100 and stayed for 20 minutes, then came back to the time stamp on the picture. Buck on the right has been on and off. This was the first picture I got of him. He came in again on the 5th of October and I havent seen him since. There is a cold front moving in tomorrow night and I wanna take advantage of it. Im in Northern Wisconsin. Based on the knowledge I gave you what spot would you sit. I have a mock scrape at both spots just poured Golden Scrape right in the scrape. I do throw bait out (should give you more of an idea of where im at) I have not been back to either site since Monday to my understanding this weekend its pre rut. Rut should kick off next weekend. Im just looking to harvest a nice buck. I spend all the downtime I have in the woods. I have bucks that make there scrapes and rubs all over my site but I never see them. I take scent control as serious as I can. I bought a tarsal gland to see if I cant stir up the woods when I sit. Ive been watching nice bucks come and go on my cameras for years. Missed an opportunity on a really nice 8 last year I first started watching in 2024. I just wasnt in the stand. Not daylight but dusk. What do I do. I need tips. What stand do I hunt tomorrow?

EDIT: I hunt public land..

Reminiscing since I haven't gotten anything yet this year lol. Pics from mid September last year, a week after season opened. Bubble blood leaf is my phone background, nothing better than finding that right next to where the arrow landed.

New Jersey. I’ve had a camera here since August and he showed up two days ago and he is like clockwork. 5 am. 7pm. 5am. 7pm. I want to hunt him, I’m not sure why he appeared in the area and is being consistent in the middle of October. It’s Thursday evening now and I am tempted to go tomorrow morning. But wouldn’t it just be dumb luck for him to break daylight. I am afraid that I will either run into him or he’ll pass by me in the dark. Do I wait for this cold weather coming this weekend or would you value time in the woods. He has not shown up in daylight and I just don’t know what to do. Do I have a small window before he’s gone. The camera just shows a small picture, is he around during sunset/sunrise? Do I wait it out till the cold morning? I am just just asking for advice ?

Shot em with the crossbow fixed broadhead. You can see the entry wound on camera. Probably a gut shot. He stopped 20 yards after being shot and that’s the pool of blood. Hard to keep up with blood trails due to lack of steady bleeding, low light, and rain. He ran into a cutover so hoping he just laid down and I can find him in the morning. Any thoughts?

I think I hit more towards the liver, thoughts on the blood?

Hey everybody, I’d consider myself a newer hunter still as I’ve only been hunting Deer for about 4 years now. I’ve been fortunate enough to take a buck on public land every year so far and no does. ( Midwest )

The last 2 bucks I’ve taken I was climbing up my sticks when I spotted them and they definitely saw me moving. Got the rest of the way in the stand and they eventually came right back to where I was. For some reason I’m a magnet for public land bucks despite other people I know in the area striking out season after season, but I’m still yet to take a doe.

The first couple seasons I would walk in and set up in the dark, now that I have a couple more seasons under my belt I prefer to walk in about 30 minutes after first light and hunt until 2-3 pm. Not much of a mid day hunter.

I feel like this is the opposite problem most hunters have. Granted none of the deer I’ve taken have been monsters yet I’m just in it for the meat, but it feels pretty good to have a couple 8 pointers and a 10 point under my belt on public but it’s driving me crazy how much I hear the doe meat is much better.

Just Harvested this beautiful muley during general rifle season in Idaho on public land. Can’t wait to get him scored.

(EDIT)

Just wanted to thank everyone for all the kind words and praise on this buck! I knew he was a stud, but I didn’t know he would get this much attention. I really appreciate it! It still feels a little surreal. Thank you all.

Also, we need a flair for Culinary.

Biggest deer I’ve seen on our property. I’m excited to hunt Saturday.

whitetail sized I know it will hammer them, but what meat damage like. and terminals perform

edit: 250gr copper bullet

I'm a hunter in mid TN. I love going all over the place for hunts. Sometimes I use eregs, but it's still kind of a pain to navigate.

I'm also a software developer, so I'm considering building a free tool that just makes eregs easier to use. But if you just have a better way to find regs, I'd love to know that too.

Hello all! I'm looking to get a portable ground blind to use this season and have a few questions.

First is any recommendations? Normally I'm happy just hunkering down in some brush or cut branches, but my fiancée wants to come with me this season. So the blind has to fit two people.

I hunt in Upstate NY during rifle season( Nov. 21st through Dec. 13th). Right now I'm looking at the Tidewe Vis360 See Through Ground Blind

Second about when should I set it up? I was thinking last week of October or the first week of November so the deer have time to get used to it. Though I do plan on putting brush on it, so I don't know if that will lessen the time it takes. I'm more worried about the smell of the material than them seeing it

Thanks for any advice or recommendations!

So I arrowed a buck on opening day here in Tennessee sitting a major pinch point on public land that I've been hunting for about 2 years. I've seen a tiny bit of evidence of other people hunting it but not a ton.

Sat for a few hours, was getting bored trying to decide if I wanted to hit a different spot for the afternoon. Decided to get up and stalk towards the island that the pinch led to.

Well I got about 40 yards from where I was sitting all morning and find a trail cam. Not a cellular camera, not locked, and it had one of those little screens that you can actually look at the pictures without removing the SIM cards.

So of course I look at the pictures and see that there was a buck walking in front of this camera at 4:30AM that morning. There was also one other Buck on the camera from earlier that week as well as dozens of Does coming through there on random days. I decided to sit there the rest of the day and ended up killing the buck that had walked by that morning.

I honestly haven't lost sleep over it at all but have a buddy that says it is at least morally questionable. In no way did I mess with the camera other than opening it up and looking at the pictures. I made 100% sure that I turned it back on to the setting it was at when I was done.

Interested to hear people's takes.

A topic I see a lot of bad, outdated advice for online is smaller calibers for big game. In this debate, what annoys me even more than Fudds saying they don’t work is converts claiming that they’re only effective now due to advancements in bullet technology. It seems like every time we have a weekly caliber debate thread and someone will say something along the lines of “I’d never have considered using [insert caliber] for [game animal], but with newer bullets designs it can be done”.

That’s just flat wrong. Newer bullet designs (which largely means “sleeker, higher B.C bullets” or “copper monos” depending on the conversation) can extend the effective range of smaller calibers in some cases, but those calibers were always effective at normal hunting ranges.

I grew up in what you might call a small caliber family. My dad and uncle used 6mm Remington’s for most hunting, and for a while a .243 was my only hunting rifle. I’ve seen a pile of deer killed with those calibers, using core-lokts, ballistic tips, partitions, and everything in between. The partition in particular stands out in my mind for tons of damage, quick kills, and reliable exits. That bullet came out in the late 1940s! There has never been anything marginal about the .243 for deer. Sure, the 6mm creedmoor is now a legit 500+ yard deer gun thanks to modern bullets, but the .243 was already a 300+ yard deer gun.

Guys will say the same stuff about the creedmoor for elk, despite the fact that the 6.5x55 was a gun-writers’s darling ever since milsurp Swedes began to show up in America, and it’s been killing moose in Scandinavia for over 100 years. 140 grain partitions and 156 grain Megas and Oryx have proven themselves reliable big game killers for generations. Heck even the humble 140 BTSP at Swede velocities will penetrate through just about anything.

TLDR: I go on a rant about how small calibers have always been effective, and it’s not just because of new bullets.

I have a spot on public land I like to hunt. Somewhat productive, I know there's at least 2 more hunters that hunt close by, never crossed in person.

I keep a ladder stand, and usually 1 camera in the area. The ladder I keep because sometimes my dad will come hunt with me, and he can only get up ladders now.

2 years in a row, my camera has been stolen/broken. Last year they took it, this year I locked it up in a steel box, someone smashed the lens. This year, they also cut my straps off my ladder stand...

Obviously don't know who it is, so I don't know if I want to do anything to the cameras behind the spot I have mine. I would assume it's NOT that person as they'd be asking for retribution to those cameras after fucking with mine... But then again, whoever it is is definitely dumb...

Would you recommend getting a crossbow or compound bow for a new hunter? I’ve been rifle hunting whitetail for several years, and am considering getting either a crossbow or compound bow to extend my hunting season next year. I’m leaning towards a crossbow because 1) less time required to learn and be proficient with. I have limited spare time, and would like to spend it actually hunting rather than just practicing. 2) A crossbow is at least as effective at ethically harvesting an animal (less movement required, faster speeds, etc.). I predominantly hunt from the ground at the moment.

Are there benefits to a compound bow I’m not considering? How dangerous are crossbows? I’ve heard a concerning amount of stories of them blowing up, and the thought of sitting with a grenade on my lap does make me nervous. Is one more durable than the other? I’ve heard that crossbows have a shorter lifespan in terms of how many shots you can take with one, due to the higher power.

Also, if you have any specific recommendations for either that are a good value, I would appreciate it.

TLDR - I’m looking for the best return on investment in terms of time and money spent to just be able to get more quality hunting time. Crossbow or compound bow?

I've gotten into elk hunting in the last 10 years. We public land hunt during rifle season. We have had moderate success. Someone in the group has gotten a bull in 2 of the last 4 seasons. But we are 0-2 the last two seasons. I've never shot a bull and the pressure is mounting from my trash talking kids!

This year in an effort to change my luck I mounted a couple of trail cameras in an area where I know the Elk hang out. And one of the cameras is hitting like crazy. I've gotten photos of 8 different bulls ranging from spikes all the way up to a good 6x6.

How would you approach this spot? I know the wind direction in that area, my current thinking is to hike up with wind in my face and post up in that spot before sunrise and hang out every morning with the hope one of them bulls emerges. Any other thoughts? I should mention the camera action is all in the morning. Nothing after late morning.

Is there a way to download an offline version of the map for your hunt area like you can with OnX?

South central TX - must have been second late rut this past season. Never seen fawns with spots this late

Sika deer on the eastern shore of Maryland with three legs. Old wound.

Edit: I’m not talking about shooting it the road, I know that’s illegal obviously. Just in general if you were hunting and came across this deer.